1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a driving support method and a driving support apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known apparatus for supporting safe driving includes an on-board system for capturing an image of an area, hidden as a blind spot of the driver, with an on-board camera, and a display monitor for displaying the image on a display monitor. One such system captures an image of an area which is hidden as a blind spot of the driver, created by a pillar in the vehicle, with an on-board camera and displays the image on the interior side of the pillar, as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-184225. Such pillars are located to the front right and left of the driver and serve to support the windows and the roof of the vehicle and require a certain thickness to ensure the safety of the driver. With the known apparatus, the direction in which the camera is pointing does not necessarily coincide with the direction in which the driver is looking and therefore the image captured by the camera is converted into coordinate values not matching the direction of the driver's view.
Further, the apparatus described above does not assist the driver in viewing an area behind the vehicle or an area to the rear of the vehicle in a rear-view mirror. When the driver looks toward the area behind the vehicle or to the rear of the vehicle in the rear-view mirror, a rear pillar which is located in the back of the vehicle and/or a center pillar which is located between a front seat and a rear seat may obstruct the driver's view in the rear-view mirror.
To solve the problem described above, another apparatus projects an image onto the rear pillar and/or the center pillar and allows the driver see the projected image in the rear-view mirror. However, the driver's range of view and the driver's eye direction for such area in the rear-view mirror are different from the driver's range of view and from the driver's eye direction in looking directly at such area, so that the driver may feel some reluctance to use this method because the image projected on the pillar is significantly different from the driver's actual view.